Geek. Culture.

Frank Darabont leaves THE WALKING DEAD?

I have a confession to make.

I didn’t like “The Walking Dead” anywhere near as much as everyone else seems to have. I mean, it was a good series, but I felt it dragged, and got unnecessarily repetitive … not good for only 6 episodes. Still, it’s strength (I felt) came from series showrunner Frank Darabont, who also directed the awesome pilot. Well….

This is a quite a bombshell — I have learned that Frank Darabont, the creator, executive producer and director of AMC’s smash hit The Walking Dead, is stepping down as showrunner of the series, which is now in production on its upcoming second season. The news is even more surprising given the fact that Darabont was on hand for Walking Dead’s Comic-Con panel just this past Friday alongside fellow executive producers Robert Kirkman, on whose graphic novel the series is based, and Gale Anne Hurd and appeared excited about Season 2. There is speculation that Darabont might be off the show completely, but I hear talks are still ongoing about him possibly staying on in some capacity. Darabont, who spent five years trying to get a TV version of the zombie saga off the ground and wrote and directed the AMC pilot, hails from the feature world, and I hear that he never quite adjusted to the daily grind of producing a TV series. (more at Deadline)

That’s very curious, really. I’d imagine he’ll stay on in some capacity, as Frank seems to be really into the series. I mean, at one time he fired the entire writing staff in favor of taking more control over the writing. I think Darabont probably just wants to get back into feature directing, and a series just doesn’t allow for that kind of time. I’d expect to see him in a producing job on the series when it finally drops this October.